Rebels attack British forces at Dickson’s Landing, Upper Canada, in 1837-38. [LAC/R13133-296]

The Hunters become the hunted,
Part 2: The 1838 U.S. invasion of Canada

STORY BY RUSSELL HILLIER

Continued from “Front lines,” Jan. 14, 2026.

During my visit, the sky had now cleared of rain clouds and the sun was out. I walked a trail leading to the water’s edge where some of the fugitives sought shelter in the trees and bushes. Nils von Schoultz, the Hunter’s captain during the raid, was captured somewhere along the shoreline on Nov. 16. He and other survivors must have been tempted to swim across the river to the American shorline. But to my knowledge, none tried.

In my own timeline, with the warmth of summer I judged a desperate escape across the river feasible for an able swimmer. But in mid-November, starving and wounded, it seemed less likely. It was the frigid river or the bayonet of an excited Dundas or Glengarry county militiaman.

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Cameron Kowalski (left), director of operations for the Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian Veterans, with colleagues. [Courtesy Cameron Kowalski]

Cameron Kowalski on veteran chronic pain research

STORY BY ALEX BOWERS

Caring for either mental or physical health shouldn’t be a choice—not least among those who have served. The same goes for funding related projects, insists Cameron Kowalski, director of operations for the Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian Veterans.

A 34-year veteran of the RCMP prior to retiring in 2018, the Hamilton, Ont., native is an inner wellness advocate. “A lot of money goes toward mental health, and it should,” explained Kowalski, “but chronic pain is equally important. It’s a comorbidity of mental health.”

The figures speak for themselves. According to Veterans Affairs Canada, 63 per cent of former personnel living with chronic pain also encounter mental health challenges. Despite this, noted Kowalski, “you’ve got the Bell Let’s Talk day, but you don’t have something similar for chronic pain.”

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